Air Wi-Fi that is fast and does not require money? Airlines say you think too much

Air Wi-Fi that is fast and does not require money? Airlines say you think too much

Broadband Internet services have become increasingly common and free in public places, but their progress in the aviation field is still on the slow lane, which makes passengers very worried.

With the recent development of technology, although the process is intermittent, the originally stagnant Wi-Fi network speed in the air has begun to change. However, in the end, it may still fail to meet the expectations of passengers. After all, people have become accustomed to superior Internet experience on the ground.

"The convenience of in-flight Internet access is indeed improving, but this is a very slow process, and business travelers are increasingly dependent on this service, so they are inevitably frustrated," Chris McGinnis said. He is the founder of TravelSkills, a blog focused on business travelers, and a deep user of Wi-Fi in the air.

"They must realize that in-room Wi-Fi is still a very new product, so you must lower some expectations, such as not wanting a signal as good and as strong as at home or in the office, "McGinnis added. "The expectation of People's expansion is partly attributed to airlines ."

JetBlue recently announced that more than 150 of its aircraft are equipped with satellite-based Wi-Fi, and other aircraft are planned to be installed next year. Joining hands with ViaSat, a satellite broadband and wireless service company, JetBlue said its broadband network would "be close to the level for customers to access the internet at home ".

More importantly, like peanuts and soda, this service is free of charge. Amazon, The Wall Street Journal, and other sponsors will pay for it. JetBlue currently only provides a free basic plan.

This summer, Virgin America and ViaSat collaborated on its new aircraft and promised that the Internet access speed would generally be 8-10 times that of other airlines ", the experience is the same as that on land.

However, virgin has limited scope of this initiative-only 10 aircraft's Wi-Fi configuration will be completed by next June. (Gogo, as a leading service provider in the industry, continues to be used by other virgin aircraft .) Before the implementation of the new price system, Virgin Atlantic's Wi-Fi was provided free of charge most of the time during the deployment phase.

Because JetBlue only accounts for 5% of the U.S. market and Virgin Airlines is even less, their policy impact on the entire aviation industry is unknown. However, in any case, the four American airlines are devoted to or are still exploring ways to speed up the Internet. Some of them have moved to an ideal satellite to access the Internet, and because old models are retired, more and more planes are starting to provide Internet services.

"The accessibility of Internet access is the biggest problem for major airlines," McGinnis said. He pointed out that airlines with smaller fleets may do better in terms of Internet services.

Satellite and communications Analyst Tim Farrar predicts that American Airlines is most likely to push forward related technologies in the face of the industry's short board. As Chairman of the TMF Association of the communications industry management consulting organization in Menlo Park, he said, American Airlines "is in the middle of the fleet update plan, it will give more aircraft the opportunity to install the relevant equipment ".

The often criticized Gogo will also be involved in the process of the industry's gradual transfer to satellite Internet access. Gogo's air-to-ground system has always been a regular choice for five American Airlines, which account for more than 70% of the U.S. aviation industry's market share. Gogo's latest satellite component, named 2Ku, will be put into use this quarter, and the company has recently reached a cooperation agreement with Delta Air Lines.

"There is one reason Gogo is struggling with performance," said Seth Miller, a tourism analyst. He pointed out that the system is overloaded because the bandwidth used is not limited. "Gogo may be a little slower than I expected to respond to consumers' online requests," he added. But he also felt a certain degree of improvement.

Gogo hopes that 2Ku can increase the bandwidth by 20 times so that its support for streaming media videos is as smooth as on the ground.

The use of satellite access networks may be more effective, but Miller pointed out that it would take several years to launch a satellite into space. Miller focuses on air Wi-Fi and is also a contributor to the travel website Runway Girl Network.

"Technology is in trouble to solve bandwidth problems," he said. "For consumers, the network is always not fast enough and there will always be deficiencies ."

From 2014 to 2019, the average speed of fixed bandwidth is expected to double. But if passengers expect it to be fast, cheap, or even free, they may have to rethink it. The use of Wi-Fi on the plane is still based on the rate, in order to prevent the system from being stuck due to excessive load. The fewer customers, the faster the network speed for everyone.

In the model being tested by JetBlue, sponsors can pay in part or in full, at least in the short term. Southwest Airlines hopes that free checked luggage will be the company's brand, so it has not followed suit with the free Wi-Fi strategy, however, it currently charges 8 USD per flight, which is relatively low.

Gogo does not serve Southwest China Airlines, but it sets a price standard for connecting flights to the Internet on other airlines: $5 per hour or $16 per day. The average fee paid by the customer per day is $13. Gogo did not disclose whether the cost will be affected after 2Ku is put into use.

Farrar suggested that airlines can rely on sponsors, but added: "This also depends on how much license fee you can get ."

Without sponsors, Miller said: "I don't think any airline company will be willing to make money and earn money ."

Farrar understands the pressure from consumers, that is, they all look at cheap or free air Wi-Fi, but he thinks the four major airlines will withstand the pressure to not do so. "We may not see any major changes for large airlines within a year," he said. "They are still trying to figure it out. And their actions are generally not very rapid ."

"If a large airline breaks the case, other airlines may consider following up," Farrar said. "At the same time, they will try to rely on this to make money ."

In fact, McGinnis has long been skeptical about the JetBlue free program.

"The cost of putting Wi-Fi on a plane is high," he said. "So I don't expect free gifts to continue ."